• The crystal in the window:

Everybody loves rainbows! They are a magical thing! Children, without fail, exclaim when they see a rainbow in the sky! They are beautiful and they are a mystery…so, why not fill your own classroom with rainbows? Hang a lead crystal in your window to catch direct morning or afternoon sunlight.

Watch as the rainbows dance around your room, adding that element of childhood excitement and wonder! Watch as rainbows become the talk of the town!

• Science

Follow the theme through to science! Answer those questions that the children will be asking you through watching the crystal…How does a rainbow work? How can you make a rainbow? Why do you need sun and rain to make a rainbow?…and many more. Blow bubbles outdoors, and watch the rainbows in them!

• Displaying the “Making Rainbows” cards with Art!

There are a million ways to paint rainbows! Children never tire of them! One way is to make a giant, rainbow! It can then be displayed on the wall.

At the beginning of each day when a new card is chosen, the previous card is placed on this rainbow path along the wall and the new card, blue tacked on the blackboard where the new message is written in big letters for everyone to see from their seats.

Even if you do not consider yourself an artist you can do a big, fun, colourful star, heart or whichever if the 5 shapes the card holds, along with the words!

• Paint watercolour rainbows

Children love freedom, where they can create. Show them the order of the colours of the rainbow and why the certain colours are next to each other. Let them experiment and see what happens when you paint those “side by side” colours in watercolours and let them run into each other.

Let them start with 2 colours and use straws to blow the paints into each other. They finally allow them to create their own beautiful rainbows!

Let the only rule be that they stick with the colour order!!!!

• The Rainbow Books

A great way to have the children become more familiar with each of the “Making Rainbows” cards is for them to have their own books! Simply cut a complete standard exercise book in half and have the children decorate the covers as; “My Rainbow Book” or “My Book of Rainbows” Each day as the card is chosen, a small period of time is taken for the message to be written in the book in their neatest printing. All easily legible styles of text are encouraged for design and creative purposes. The children can then decorate the books with colour and imagination. They can illustrate just what the words on the card mean to them, or simply play with the actual card design. The children love the colours, and it seems that even the messiest of children make more of an effort! This is great for early finishers to keep on hand! This seems to let the children take on more ownership of the messages! It makes it more real for them and helps them to integrate the messages, and generates an awareness of their power both within classroom and the playground! See the kids page for pictures of the “Rainbow Books”!

• Draw the Making Rainbows imagination journeys for kids!

 

After the children have listened to the imagination journeys a few times and are familiar with them, they can be great fun to draw!
The kids can do storymaps, or choose a scene and paint it just as it is in their imaginations! Fun to see just how different everyone’s can be!

• Decorate your windows

You can use the liquid chalk to write your daily focus card on the window! Bright and colourful, it wipes off easily with a dry cloth.

Children can take turns. The person who chooses the card might be the one who has the privilege for that day, or perhaps it is up to them to choose someone who has not yet had a turn to design the window!

You will have a bright and colourful reminder each day! Soon everyone will want to know what you are doing! You can buy the liquid chalk pens direct from Crystal Rainbow.

If you would like to share any experiences or ideas in using your Crystal Rainbow products to help other teachers, we would love to hear from you, please CONTACT US.

We would be delighted to send a classroom pack of bookmarks to you and your class for sharing.

Shared Ideas

Hello! My name is Rebecca McGee and I currently teach Kindergarten at Secret Harbour Primary School. Below is an idea that I have used in my classroom and would like to share with you. This activity was used to introduce the children to your wonderful Making Rainbows positive thought cards.

• Birthday Idea

Each week a child whose birthday it was during that week (or month) selects a card and the positive thought is reinforced to the children throughout the week. We discuss it as a class and it has definitely helped promote our ethos of 'caring is sharing'. As an extra reinforcer of self-esteem for the children, when I say "Two big pats on your back", the children pat themselves on their backs and reply "We're Fantastic!". Thank you so much. Your products are fantastic!

• Rainbow Poem Idea

Before your read the poem, place a large sheet of white paper on your easel and gather markers in the six colors mentioned in the poem. As you read the Rhyme, drawn an arc of each color. TA-DA ... it's a rainbow!

Six little textas all standing in a line.
They said, "Let's draw a picture and make it mighty fine."
Red jumped for joy as he leaped across the sky.
Orange jumped up too, but not quite so high.
Next came yellow as bright as the sun.
Green was excited as he started to run.
Blue followed boldly, then looked all around.
Purple came last, nearly touching the ground.
"Isn't this lovely?" the textas exclaimed.
"We've made a rainbow without any rain!"

Kind regards,
Rebecca McGee
Teacher - Room 20
Secret Harbour Primary School WA